Dropping board cleaner or scraper



Jan. 8, 1935; c. H. INMAN E-r AL 1,987,298

DROPPING' BOARD CLEANER OR SCRAPER Filed May 9, 1935 2 Sheets--Sheetl lINV NTOR ATTORNEY c, H. INMAN Er AL 1,987,298 h DROPPING BOARD CLEANEROR SCRAPER 2 sheets-Sheet 2 Filed May 9, 1933 ATTORNEY Patented Jan. 8,1935 DnoPPING noARD CLEANER :on sCnAPER p' toi 'Ethel Inman;Liakmewod'"Township,l Ocean .application May 9, .1933., .Serial n1670201i '5 claims. "(cl; 4111Li2v2` "This invention relates to roosts forSvarious `fowls A,5\ scraping theirefuseior droppings from the'fdrop'- Yping board;4 conveying the droppings' toward' Aone or poultry;particularly' such `chickens, pigeons and the like and more'especiallyVl `to air-improved droppingboardcleaner or's'craper; for'cleaning "or end ofthe :roostftdafdis'charg'eopening; "from which' V,thedroppings Hniay ltravell I downfan inclined chute Yand'iint'o afreceptacle `exterix'irly `of .thehcusin'gofthe roost.` 'Theinventionhasfor `Tits `purpose tolprovide a device of thisikindjwhichissimple andIlps'ictical in. constrcti'on fandcomprise's'f 'endless 'ftraversrsoperating" over sprockets "atiboth ends of the roostsadl traversers"carryingfscrapers, which convey the.' droppings on' the dropping boardto the discharge-end'of Ithe roostfor'housingand.v allowl it Sto'descend 'an inclined :chute' finto' a' rel cepta'cle forc'ontainer; thecontainer o'r receptaclewhenznlledadapted sto-be removed and emptied.

.Another '.purposefis "to' provide means *for `supportingftheidroppingtrough tor' boad'in 3a ner '.that '.thelbottom 'fof `the"trough ordropping board will lliefilatg' so that its" entire surfaceniaybeieasilycleaned or scraped, 'the "cleialners'l "or Scrapers! extendingentirely froin 'one sidebf the dropping trough Lor I'board Sto' th'enther,4 fin'A Lorder thatallthe -refuseror droppings''rnaybe r'e ovd.'Anotheiwpurpose .is to "provide rmeans'in' the n sides ofthe dropp'in'gtr'oughfor boardito overlie the traversers to'. prevent the refuslordroppings from reaching the endless traversers, andcausing bottom'of`the .dropping trough vor bpfdgf a Still fan'oth'erf purpose' is f tovprovide improvedl for ffowlsor poultry, especiallyphickens;'pigeons'and the .,rlikd'; showing :the :improved'idroppingl ls boardoleanerer1-scraper as .'appliedi fr and combinationwof parts tobehereinafterset forth,` shown inf-.the draivings a Figure 2 is a View inside elevation of the apparatus-'as shcwriin Figure 1." V

sure 3 is' a sectionalfview on line 3 3 of` nre 4 isla sectional View online {1f-4 of lfigure-B.A H AEjigure 5 isa perspective view of one oftheside uprights', showingfthe manner of supportingtheufplierstririgers, which inturnsuppoft'the poultry wire andthe'perchesor roostingvpoles, v'sotliia-.t such 'stringersi 'and poultry wireandperchesor roosting''polescan "be easily removed for'agenealcl'aning.- Y l V It is obvious that this improved dropping boardclear'ierforl fscraper may beinadebf 4val''1yler1"i.g:tl1 or'siz,adapting: it for roosting`hon"ses of `various lengths,4 heightsandwi'dths) A AtlReferring"t'othev drawings 1 and 2 identify frn'tiandrear walls'of a roosting house vfor-'va'- rifoii's Ifovv'lsl suchaschickensand pigeons andthe like] and the frontwall has adischargeopemngj, there'l'ieing4 aslide closure fl rnounted'inguds f5,soft/hat when' the ycleaner or scraper isv operating the refuse ordroppings may pass out through the discharge opening, after opening thedoor.; "51

Upstanding vfrom the iioor` 6 of--the fowl or roost husing are uprights,7, whichmaybe spaced a'part 'throughoutf'thelength ofgth'e yroost'-anysiitable distance; and spa-ced apart transversely, depending onthewidtliofltheroost. Itis obvious thatfther` roost can jb'e any -lengthand of any width, it ,also depending forijtheV diniensionso-r sizeO'-.Qthelhusngff ,Y 1 Mounted mid way of the upright'?,transversely'"o`f the: roost arelower stringersfSQ-wl'ich are fastenedto theA uprights as shown gat9yand-rest iig"on"'the flower stringersis avsuitableoor'ing 15G, which' niaye'be'foonstructed yof `l'ooards ofsuitable length, according ,totheilength'ofjthe roost. `uponftheAflooringvlO is ,a metal trough lgljconstructed of sheet metal of ,anysuitable gauge; die sides' 1.2 `of th trough extending to th top' nearthe'most. lThe combination-irme flooring 10'3together with', the'bottoni 13 of the trough constitutes a dropping board 'fortheQdrjgr-ypings fronithe fowl.V The bottom 13 of the t''ii'ghr atffa pointadjacent the discharge Vopen-inggB is estended as identiiied at Y14l andinclined downwarydly-through the dischargeopening 3, therebyconstituting a chute for the-droppings, when'the cleaner or scraperis-in motion;

;'I'lrielower stringers 8 are extended :beyondone side ofl the roostand' mounted on such extensions 15 is ya'fstepor support 16 upon whichthe Resting on the upper stringers is an area of v poultry wire mesh 20,and on the wire mesh the perches 17 rest, and due tothe provision of thepoultry wire mesh 2O the fowl are preventedfrorn falling through theframe work and downinthe trough upon the dropping board, andpossibly inbetween cleaner blades or scrapers 21.

Carried by certain of the uprights 7 near the front wall of the housingare bearings 22 in which a power shaft 23 is mounted. This power shaftlcarries sprocket wheels 24, the hubs of which aresecured tothe shaft asat 25. 'I'he flooring l is extended beyond the rearend of the roost andl,isconnected tofa lower Stringer 8a, and

mounted upon this extension 26 of the flooring;

are takeup oradjustable bearings 27, in which a shaft 28 is mounted. Byreason of the take up or adjustable bearings, it is possible to tightenor loosen the endless chain traversers. 29, which pass about-thesprockets 24, and also about the sprockets 30 and 31, which areassociated with the shaft l28. The sprocket 30 is made fast at 32 to theshaft 28 while the sprocket 31 is loose on the shaft, the idea beingtoequalize the tension. 1

, 'Ihe cleaner or scraper blades 21, which may be any suitableconstruction and of any suitable material are secured in any suitablemanner (not shown)KA to certain links of the chain traversers 29, andare arranged at right angles to the traversers, so that the cleanerblades or Scrapers may engage edgewise on the bottom of the metaltroughv which constitutes the dropping board, and in this mannersupporting the lower part of the chain travers ers.

Interiorly of the metal trough and secured to its sides are stringers33, which are angular and are designed to support the upper portion `ofthe chain-traversers, so as to prevent any sagging of the chain. Alsosecured at 34 to the inner faces of the sides of the trough are metalsheds 35, which are angular in cross section and overlie the upperportions "of rthe chain traversers, said sheds acting to deflect thedroppings from falling lupo the chain `traversers. l

` It is obvious that by removing the` perches "or roosting poles 1'7'and then removing the poultry wire, it is possible to give the roost athorough cleaning, and which may be done at any time convenient toVtheuser of the roost.

While there shown a hand wheel36 .as applied to the shaft 23`for`rotating the same, it is.v

possible to attach'a pulley 37 vincluding a belt 38 as' shown in Figure1 and which belt may be driven by any suitable motor o'r theflike. j

The inventionhaving been set forth, what is claimed is:V v y r1.l In afowl roost including a frame, a dropping board consisting of aV troughhaving a discharge end andmounted on the frame, the upper portion of theframe including removable stringers, poultry wire supported thereon,perches or roosting poles resting on the wire, andan endless opentraverser including scraper blades operating longitudinally through thetrough and mounted be'- tween the trough andthe poultry wire,/thezedgesconnected to one end of the trough and supported on the lower wall ofthe discharge opening of the housing. c'

2. In a fowl roost including a housing and a lroost frame therein, saidframe having a plurality vof upper and lower transverse stringers, aflooring `Aand a trough thereon supported by the lower stringers,perches or roosting poles supported on the upper stringers, saidflooring and the bottom -of the trough constituting a dropping boardhaving a discharge end, endless open traversers mounted longitudinallyon the frame and located between the perches or roosting poles and thetrough, said endless traversers having scraper blades, certain, edges ofwhich engage with the droppingboard,v thereby not'only supporting thelower portionsof the traversers but acting to scrape the droppingstoward said discharge vend of thejdroppingboard, and means forsupporting the upper portions of the traversers.

3. In a fowl roost including a housing and a roost frame therein, saidframe having a plurality of upper and lower transverse stringers,v aflooring and atroughythereon supported by the lower stringers, perchesy.or roosting poles supported on the upperstringers, the viflooring andthe bottom of the troughconstituting a dropping board having a discharge;end, endless open traversers mounted longitudinally on the frame andlocated between ther perches or roosting poles and the trough, saidiendlesstraversers having scraper bladeacertainl edgescofr which engagewith the dropping board, lthereby not only supporting the lower-portionsof ,thel traversers but acting to scrape the droppings toward saiddischarge end of thedroppingV board, means for supporting the upperportions of the traversers, the housing havingadischarge openingadjacent the "discharge end of the dropping board, a chute connectingthe discharge end of the dropping board-and the discharge opening, andlmeans for shedding the drOppings fromthevupper portions o! .the endlesstraversers.y .f v f i c 4; Ina device as set forth, thecombination witha fowl roost-frame' having side uprights, of a housing-therefor, saidroost'frame having lower transversestringers including means forvfasten-- ing them to the side uprights ofsaid frame, a flooring andatrough thereonA supported ,on said lower stringers and constituting adropping board, upperv transverse stringers detachably supported on theupper ends of said uprights of said frame, a roost removably supportedupon the upper transverse stringers Vendless open traversersA andoverlying the upper portions of the endless traversers for shedding thedroppings therefrom.

5. In a device as set forth, the combination With a fowl roost frame, ofa housing therefor, said roost frame having lower transverse stringersincluding means for fastening them to side uprights of said frame, aooring and a trough thereon supported on said lower stringers andconstituting a dropping board, upper transverse stringers detachablysupported on the upper ends of said uprights of said frame, a roostremovably supported upon the transverse stringers, endless opentraversers mounted adjacent the inner faces of the longitudinal sides ofsaid trough and having transverse Scrapers, the lower ones of which rideupon the bottom of the trough, angle rails extending along the length ofthe inner faces of the sides of the trough for supporting the upperportions of said traversers to support and prevent sagging of the upperportions of the traversers, the Scrapers acting to scrape the droppingslongitudinally of the trough and toward one end thereof, and meanssecured to the inner faces of the sides of the trough adjacent the upperedges of said sides and overlying the side edges of the upper portionsof the endless traversers for shedding the droppings therefrom, saidroost comprising poultry wire mesh on the upper transverse stringers,perches resting upon the poultry Wire mesh, said mesh acting to preventthe fowl from falling through the frame into the trough, the end of thetrough toward which the droppings are scraped having a dischargeopening, one end of the housing adjacent said discharge having adischarge opening, and a chute connecting the discharge opening of thetrough and the discharge opening of the housing and resting on the upperwall of the housing opening for conducting the droppings from the troughand from within the housing.

CLARK I-I. INMAN. CHARLES R. LE COMPTE.

